• Lucky Penny

  • Miranda Vaughn Mysteries, Book 3
  • By: Ellie Ashe
  • Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt
  • Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (41 ratings)

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Lucky Penny  By  cover art

Lucky Penny

By: Ellie Ashe
Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt
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Publisher's summary

From USA Today best-selling author Ellie Ashe....

A year after her acquittal on fraud charges, former financial analyst Miranda Vaughn is finally getting her life back. Not only does she have a chance for romance with her sexy neighbor, FBI Agent Jake Barnes, but she's also got a new job...one that's taking her to a vacation paradise!

Perched above the crystal blue waters of Lake Tahoe, the Whispering Pines Resort & Spa is a local landmark and a popular destination for the rich and famous who are stressed out from being rich and famous. And down on the water's edge is the Lucky Penny Casino - an abandoned shell of a once-stylish casino. Max Emmerson, the owner of the Whispering Pines Resort, used to own the Lucky Penny, and he wants it back. Miranda's job is to get Max's finances in order so he can borrow the money to buy the casino, and make sure nothing jeopardizes his gaming license. Easy, right?

But the nice boring accounting job spirals out of control with the addition of a Hollywood film crew, an underground gambling ring, and Jake going undercover at the resort as a newlywed - with another woman. As Miranda and Jake each dive into their investigations, they can't deny their growing feelings for each other. But it's more important than ever that they keep their attraction hidden. Especially since someone at the resort is watching them very closely, and is willing to do just about anything to keep them from uncovering the truth.

©2015 Ellie Ashe (P)2017 Ellie Ashe

What listeners say about Lucky Penny

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Even Better Than #2

4.5★ Audiobook⎮ Ellie Ashe has added another gem to the Miranda Vaughn Mysteries series! She has also proven that a great writer can “take their act on the road”, so to speak. Each Miranda Vaughn story has a vastly different setting and premise for the mystery, but each one is as engrossing as the next.

Lucky Penny revolves around a casino and resort setting. It’s described in such vivid detail that the scenes naturally unfold in the listener’s imagination. This setting was even more conducive to the accidental shenanigans Miranda somehow always becomes involved in. Real life casinos and resorts are meant to foster feelings of escapism and excitement. Lucky Penny‘s literary versions do the same.

Each installment in the Miranda Vaughn Mysteries series has its own all-encompassing mystery that begins and ends with each novel. Unlike other mystery stories, listening isn’t only about solving the mystery before the protagonist. It’s about solving the mystery alongside the protagonist and experiencing her journey.

Miranda Vaughn is an innately endearing and relatable main character. Her personal story is the larger over-arching plot throughout the series. Her romantic life starts out as an inconvenient (to her) crush in Chasing the Dollar, evolves into a will-they-won’t-they scenario in Dropping the Dime, and reaches a satisfying culmination in Lucky Penny. My favorite thing about this romance is the naturally flirtatious manner in which it is written. Throughout the series, the romance remains a subplot, never outshining the individual characters or respective mystery plots. Ashe writes it in such a way that it enhances the development of her characters, instead of hindering it, and still satisfies the [seemingly obligatory] romance requirement for Cozy Mysteries.

There’s even the slightest teasing of a love triangle, which I cannot complain about either. Even if it had developed into a full-fledged love triangle, the excellent character development would have prevented it from becoming too obnoxious. Excellent writing can save stories from typical blunders like that. In a (sub)genre usually deficient in fully developed characters, Ellie Ashe is churning them out like a machine. Her writing style is highly enjoyable and will keep listeners invested in her series and its delightful characters.

This is one of my favorite cozy mystery series. In fact, it was the first title off my tongue when making audiobook recommendations in a doctors’ office last week. Ashe really has something great going here and I hope we see much more of Miranda Vaughn in the future.

Narration review: Teri Schnaubelt deserves a lot of the credit for making this series so enjoyable. Her voice adds to the coziness factor and gives voice to the many colorful characters. She was 100% the right selection to narrate the series. Everything she does is professional-grade, from voice distinction and emotional emphasis, to timing, articulation and pacing. This is an excellent series in any format, but Teri makes it so much better. ♣︎

➜ This audiobook was graciously gifted to me by its author, Ellie Ashe, in exchange for a review containing my honest thoughts and opinions. Thanks, Ellie!

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Should be TV SERIES

I was gifted this Audio ARC for a honest and unbiased review from the author/narrator.

Can I just say WOW!!
Ellie Ashe can write a fantastic book. This is the 3rd in the series but I wasn't lost without reading the first 2.
The twist and turns of the story kept me listening well in to the wee hours.
Teri Schnaubelt did a fantastic job of making the book come alive.
In my opinion these books after just listening to this one book, should be made into a TV series.

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CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF THIS SERIES!

I can't get enough of this series. I expected it to be like those tv series where every episode is the same story line just different characters. Well this book has the same main characters but a different story line and just as good as the first. I just love Miranda Vaughn and her manly FBI agent Jake. Please keep them coming.

"I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review."

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Who Thought Accounting Could Be Fun?

I was voluntarily provided this review copy audiobook (the third in the series) at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator. I wanted to start the series at the beginning because the premise looked interesting. I purchased the first 2 books in the group. I was not disappointed with any of them.
The lead character, an accountant wrongly accused of embezzlement, is spunky and daring. Of course there are two hunky love interests and a dastardly ex-fiancé. I hated when each book ended and was excited to begin the next. This is just plain old fun escapist fiction that I think you might enjoy.
The narration was great.

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Fun

This was a cute story full of twist. I started with book 3 as i received this free in exchange for an honest review. I have to say enjoyed the ride and look forward to reading more in this series.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Very entertaining and enjoyable

Any additional comments?

Evidently, I have been missing out on a really good series. I really enjoyed this book. It was a bit different from other cozy type mystery stories that I have read. The characters, the story and the narration were a great combination that all came together perfectly. It's a fun, entertaining, well written, engaging and very enjoyable story. It pulled me in from the start and held my complete attention until the end. It has a great mixture of mystery, intrigue, secrets, romance, deceit and suspense with enough twist to keep it interesting and fresh.

While this is the 3rd book in the series it is the first I have listened to. There are references to events in previous books, not having listened to the previous books in no way effected my enjoyment of this installment. I enjoyed this book so much I will be going back and listening to the rest of the series.

The synopsis gives a pretty in depth overview of the book. What it doesn't tell you is that this book is really worth your time.

Teri Schnaubelt did a great job with the narration as usual. Nice voice easy to listen to for long periods of time. Clearly spoken with a nice even pace. Really good character voices. Her cadence, tone and delivery were perfect. She was able to bring the story and characters to life. Very enjoyable.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher.

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loved this!

great book and narration! i loved it! I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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A Cozy Chick-Lit Caper

Any additional comments?

Fair warning to readers new to the series: I had no trouble jumping into it with the third book but those who are chronologically-driven probably would prefer to read in order. I’m just sayin’ 😉

Technically speaking, Lucky Penny is a cozy that doesn’t quite meet the so-called requirements because it doesn’t take place in a small town, most of the characters don’t start out as bosom buddies and the protagonist isn’t a cook, crafter, organic farmer, bookseller, yogi, petsitter, etc., etc., etc. So, let’s just call it a cozy chick-lit caper, OK?

Miranda is a very likeable character who got in some legal trouble a while back and, although she was acquitted, her career is in shambles so she takes on a freelance job at a casino, one that she might not have been offered in the past but it could be a real boon for her. Naturally, what seemed to be a pretty simple task, not to mention a free luxury vacation, turns out to be much, much more. Before she knows what’s happening, Miranda is in the midst of financial shenanigans, an illegal gambling investigation, the filming of a movie and a couple of twisty turny romantic developments.

I could do without the woman-has-to-choose-between-two-guys routine but the romantic elements weren’t too intrusive and the various mysteries were entertaining enough plus the main players are appealing. Bottomline, I liked the story and the narration of the audio edition was a big plus. Ms. Schnaubelt is a very good reader with an easy tone and excellent pacing, clear diction and she does different voices quite well. Her interpretation of Miranda is especially good, exactly the right touch to pull me into Miranda’s world. Both Ellie Ashe and Teri Schnaubelt bring Miranda and crew to life.

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Great mystery with a little romance

This story came as such an awesome surprise. Even though I got this book at no cost from the author, narrator or publisher in exchange for an unbiased review, I had to keep reminding myself that I didn't buy it myself because it's so similar to the exact kind of book that I love. I plan to check out the other books in the series now that I'm done with this one.

There's a small amount of backstory, but not a ton, so it allows the reader to leap right into the story, which I like. There's nothing worse than spending two hours on what happened before this story started, and thank goodness, this book is NOT guilty of that offense!

Another thing I like is that this story managed to be exciting and fun without dumb, excessive violence. I was somehow on the edge of my seat because there was a page missing from a financial audit. I know it sounds stupidly dull, but I'm telling you, this author pulls it off and you just have to trust me that she manages to make this story terrific without a lot of unrealistically unlikely violence.

Try this series, even from the third book as a starter, like I did. I think you'll be glad you did. There are twists and surprises you won't see coming. Mild language, but nothing you wouldn't hear in real life if you're not a prude. PG-13 sex scenes.

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Another hit in this series

What does Teri Schnaubelt bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I love listening to this narrator she really brings the characters to life.

Any additional comments?

This story took some unexpected twists and turns which made the book even better. I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

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